Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling (Sturnus contra)
WildFilmsIndia
2014-08-12
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The Pied Myna or Asian Pied Starling (Sturnus contra) is a species of starling found in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia. They are usually found in small groups mainly on the plains and low foothills. They are often seen within cities and villages although they are not as bold as the Common Myna. They produce a range of calls made up of liquid notes. Several slight plumage variations exist in the populations and about five subspecies are named.
This myna is strikingly marked in black and white and has a yellowish bill with a reddish bill base. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The upper body, throat and breast are black while the cheek, lores, wing coverts and rump are contrastingly white. The sexes are similar in plumage but young birds have dark brown in place of black. The subspecies vary slightly in plumage, extent of streaking of the feathers and in measurements.
The flight is slow, on round wings.
Leucistic individuals have been recorded.
The species is found mainly in the plains but in the foothills up to about 700m above sea level. They are found mainly in areas with access to open water. Their main distribution in India is in the Gangetic plains but extending south to the Krishna River. Their range is increasing, with populations establishing more recently in Pakistan Rajkot and Bombay (since 1953) possibly aided by trade in caged birds and accidental escape.Their westerward spread in India particularly in parts of Rajasthan has been aided by changes in irrigation and farming patterns, and the spread into Sumatra has been aided by deforestation. The species has also established itself in Dubai, UAE.
The habitat is lowland open areas with scattered trees near water, often near human habitation. This species is often seen at sewage farms and refuse tips.
Source: Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
This myna is strikingly marked in black and white and has a yellowish bill with a reddish bill base. The bare skin around the eye is reddish. The upper body, throat and breast are black while the cheek, lores, wing coverts and rump are contrastingly white. The sexes are similar in plumage but young birds have dark brown in place of black. The subspecies vary slightly in plumage, extent of streaking of the feathers and in measurements.
The flight is slow, on round wings.
Leucistic individuals have been recorded.
The species is found mainly in the plains but in the foothills up to about 700m above sea level. They are found mainly in areas with access to open water. Their main distribution in India is in the Gangetic plains but extending south to the Krishna River. Their range is increasing, with populations establishing more recently in Pakistan Rajkot and Bombay (since 1953) possibly aided by trade in caged birds and accidental escape.Their westerward spread in India particularly in parts of Rajasthan has been aided by changes in irrigation and farming patterns, and the spread into Sumatra has been aided by deforestation. The species has also established itself in Dubai, UAE.
The habitat is lowland open areas with scattered trees near water, often near human habitation. This species is often seen at sewage farms and refuse tips.
Source: Wikipedia
This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM 1080i High Definition, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at wfi @ vsnl.com and [email protected].
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